Not Forsaken

 

In ancient times scripture was learnt by heart. There was no bible as there is today, no division into chapters, no numbered verses, just one continuous scroll and in those days, the tradition was that the rabbi would quote a line and his listeners were able to fill in the rest.

These days, there are some persons who do the same thing, especially with very familiar scripture passages.

Jesus, on the cross, cries aloud, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” as recorded in Matthew 27:46 (NIV) which lets us know that it means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Jesus uttered seven sentences from the cross that day but this one in particular, has always baffled me. Have you ever wondered why Jesus would have felt that His Father had forsaken Him?

The Amplified version says, “why have You abandoned Me [leaving Me helpless, forsaking and failing Me in My need]?”

Had the Father abandoned His beloved Son?

Had the Father left His beloved Son helpless?

Had the Father forsaken His beloved Son?

Had the Father failed His beloved Son in His need?

Over the years I have heard many preachers offer many reasons for Jesus’ sense of abandonment by His Father, our heavenly Father, while He hung on that cross, but I felt sure that there must be more to it than their proffered anecdotes.

What was Jesus doing? The time was drawing near, it was three o’clock, the ninth hour, His fourth sentence.

In Deuteronomy 31:8, Moses gives Joshua the assurance that,

“It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” (NRSVUE)

Actually, he had already done so in verse 6, and we see this same assurance in 1 Chronicles 28:20, when David speaking to his son Solomon says,

“Be strong and of good courage, and act. Do not be afraid or dismayed, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished.” (NRSVUE)

This same assurance is again found in the Book of Hebrews, chapter 13 verses 5 and 6,

“for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]

So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified]. What can man do to me?” (AMPC)

So, what was Jesus doing when He uttered these words of seeming forsakenness?

The Father did not abandon His only begotten beloved Son in His time of need and Jesus was reminding anyone in earshot of His voice of that Truth – those who had gathered at the foot of the cross then and those who gather at His feet now.

This Truth is repeated too many times in His Word for us to ever believe otherwise. We are not forsaken.

God is always with you even when you cannot feel His presence, and that, I believe, was what Jesus was doing; He was giving a reminder of that Truth.

Psalm 22 begins with these words,

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Sounds familiar?

Jesus’ hearers upon hearing this first line of scripture would have, by rote, filled in the rest of this Psalm. Line by beautiful line, they would have been reminded of the love of the Father.

Just a few lines down, they would have remembered,

“Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.”

They would have remembered,

“For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me but heard when I cried to him.”

Beloved, I encourage you to step into the shoes of those who would have heard Jesus’ reminder and read Psalm 22 for yourself so that you may understand that He was not forsaken by God and neither are you.

Amen †

 

Shelley Johnson “Not Forsaken” © November 3, 2025